New York City: Major water savings through pricing and incentives

In 1985, New York City, United States, put water conservation on the public agenda after a severe drought that left city reservoirs at dangerously low levels. A series of water conservation initiatives were implemented, including metering, leak detection, public education and subsidy programmes. In 1994, NYC initiated the world’s largest toilet replacement program – which in some buildings reduced water use with up to 37 percent.

Vandtårne i New York City, 29. september 2007, Af TheBigSpot, Flickr, Creative Commons

In 1985, the city of New York began an ambitious plan to install
water meters in every residential building. The hope was that
charging building owners for the water used in their buildings
would encourage conservation efforts and prepare the city for the
next inevitable drought. At the end of September 2000, more than
half a million meters had been installed in residential buildings
citywide. The city paid for most of the costs of installing water
meters ranging from 400 USD to more than 40.000 USD per building
depending on its size.

''The great virtue of metering systems is you tie the amount of
the payment to water consumption.'' - Paul J. Elston, co-founder of
New York League of Conservation Voters

The city also began to conduct a door-to-door survey with
homeowners that included educational information on water and free
leak inspections. More than 200.000 homeowner inspections have been
performed resulting in the elimination of more than 15 million
litres of water per day in leaks. In 1996, leak detection in the
city water mains and repair efforts in residential buildings saved
more than 40 million litres of water per day.

The most effective water conservation programme was the
replacement of water-guzzling toilets (up to 19 litres per flush)
with high-efficiency toilets (6 litres per flush). The city offered
landlords 290 million USD worth of grants as an incentive to update
plumbing systems with low-flow toilets, shower heads and faucets.
Between 1994 and 1997, the city of New York replaced 1.3 million
inefficient toilets saving an estimated 265 to 303 million litres
of water per day. In some of the participating buildings water use
has decreased by up to 37 percent!

In 2000, the city offered landlords of more than 72.000
buildings with six or more units the option to get a flat-rate bill
instead of paying by the meter. Buildings that enrolled this
programme had to have meters installed and their landlords had to
prove that their buildings were water efficient by showing that at
least 60 percent of their toilets, showerheads and faucets were the
type that automatically conserves water. The flat-rate is adjusted
each year based on changes in the meter rate.

The idea behind the flat-rate programme was to ease the rise in
water prices for landlords of densely populated, low-income
buildings where water use is typically high. Since metering is
registered per building and not per residential unit, owners of
low-income buildings in NYC have been particularly hard hit as they
are not able to pass the costs on directly to the tenants. Despite
the attempt to secure low-income housing in NYC, the policy switch
was met with frustration by environmentalists who felt that it was
a step backwards. However, water board members were confident that
the new programme would give landlords renting out to low-income
tenants an incentive to install low-flow toilets and shower
heads.

Comments

Water

Key Learning Points >

Subsidy programs and free homeowner inspections can kick off major water savings.

Water conservation must be embraced on all levels, including the political level, as water is an essential - but limited - resource to all cities.

Process >

In 1985, New York City begins the implementation of a series of water conservation programmes including education, metering, leak detection and water use regulations.

In 1991, the city launched a program to install water meters at unmetered residences.

In 1992, the city conducted an avoided-cost analysis of the available supply alternatives. It compared the existing supply cost with the costs of a toilet subsidy programme and concluded that conservation, i.e. initiating a large-scale toilet replacement programme, offered the most cost-effective option.

Between 1994 and 1997, 1.3 millon inefficient toilets in NYC were replaced.

In 2000, the city initiates a flat-rate programme to meet the complaints of landlords of buildings housing low-income residents.

In December 2006, the city launches an ambitious plan, PlaNYC, to enhance NYC’s urban environment.

New York’s conservation efforts resulted in a drop in per capita water use from 741 litres per day in 1991 to 635 litres per day in 1998.
(source: New York City 2007 Drinking Water Supply and Quality Report)

Related Facts >

In December 2006, Mayor Michael Bloomberg launched the plan PlaNYC to enhance New York’s urban environment. Focusing on five key dimensions of the city’s environment – water being one of them – it is called a plan that can become a model for cities in the 21st century.

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